Internationally acclaimed author Yiyun Li won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for her resonant memoir\, Things in Nature Merely Grow\, a deeply moving account of losing her younger son to suicide a little more than six years after her older son died in the same manner.
The Princeton University professor is the author of 12 books—and was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. In addition\, she is the recipient of the PEN/Faulkner Award\, a PEN/Malamud Award\, a PEN/Hemingway Award\, a PEN/Jean Stein Book Award\, a MacArthur Fellowship\, and a Windham-Campbell Prize. Time Magazine also included Li on its list of 100 Most Influential People for 2026.
Melissa Febos\, director of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Nonfiction Writing Program\, will join Li in conversation. Febos is the national bestselling author of five books and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship\, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship\, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism.
This event is possible due to generous support from University of Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Professor Emerita Linda Maxson and her husband\, Rick. It is being held in conjunction with the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó City Book Festival.
Literary Legends represents a special collaboration among the UI Nonfiction Writing Program\, Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Writers’ Workshop\, UI Lecture Committee\, University of Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Center for Advancement\, and Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó City UNESCO City of Literature.
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=TEXT/HTML:Internationally acclaimed author Yiyun Li won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for her resonant memoir\, Things in Nature Merely Grow\, a deeply moving account of losing her younger son to suicide a little more than six years after her older son died in the same manner.
The Princeton University professor is the author of 12 books—and was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. In addition\, she is the recipient of the PEN/Faulkner Award\, a PEN/Malamud Award\, a PEN/Hemingway Award\, a PEN/Jean Stein Book Award\, a MacArthur Fellowship\, and a Windham-Campbell Prize. Time Magazine also included Li on its list of 100 Most Influential People for 2026.
Melissa Febos\, director of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Nonfiction Writing Program\, will join Li in conversation. Febos is the national bestselling author of five books and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship\, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship\, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism.
This event is possible due to generous support from University of Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Professor Emerita Linda Maxson and her husband\, Rick. It is being held in conjunction with the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó City Book Festival.
Literary Legends represents a special collaboration among the UI Nonfiction Writing Program\, Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Writers’ Workshop\, UI Lecture Committee\, University of Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó Center for Advancement\, and Â鶹´«Ã½ÍÅ¶Ó City UNESCO City of Literature.
DTSTART:20261023T193000 DTEND:20260629T075142 SUMMARY:Save the Date: 2026 Literary Legends Featuring Pulitzer Prize winner Yiyun Li (00MS\, 05MFA) DTSTAMP:20260629T075142 UID:6a42786ed6bea END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR